Healthy Eating Nudge: Fostering Receptivity to Support Adherence in Dietary Practices

Abstract: Dietary practices, including what and how people eat, influence physical and mental well-being. Existing healthy eating technologies emphasize tailored content, such as nutritional suggestions and mindful eating exercises. However, their effects also depend on users’ receptivity: whether people trust the support and are willing to adhere to it. My research explores how technologies can foster such receptivity to promote healthy dietary practices. Specifically, I enabled agent customization in a conversational recommender system to improve people’s perceptions of and adherence to the recommended diets. Extending beyond the general population, I explored the timings at which people experiencing disordered eating would be receptive to support through co-design. Building on collected design rationales, my ongoing work develops a just-in-time system for disordered eating mitigation. Together, my research informs the design of healthy eating nudges that foster receptivity through enabling customization and timely support, thereby encouraging everyday adherence.